


you don't have to say you're mine

by BookRockShooter



Category: Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Big Bang Challenge, F/F, F/M, One-Sided Story Telling, POV Honda Tohru, Rated T for kyo's language, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, based mostly on the anime reboot, only because they don't really Get Together yet but rest assured that they do in the future sjdsld, so just an au of the first two eps really, two sides to every story y'know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22470064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookRockShooter/pseuds/BookRockShooter
Summary: Tohru Honda is born with a tattoo of an orange cat on the inside of her left wrist.//or, a look at how Tohru's life would have been like if she had been destined to meet Kyo all along
Relationships: Honda Tohru & Sohma Yuki, Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou, mentioned Uotani Arisa/Hanajima Saki
Comments: 14
Kudos: 204
Collections: Fruits Basket Big Bang 2020





	you don't have to say you're mine

**Author's Note:**

> i'm so glad i can finally post this oh my god
> 
> also lmao song lyrics as titles never fail huh (title from "adore you" by harry styles!!)
> 
> okay so as it says in the tags this is my piece for the 2019-2020 Furuba Big Bang!! i know soulmate aus aren't exactly original but i really liked playing with the concept for tohru and kyo and This is the result of that
> 
> i'm actually pretty pleased with this?? after months of writing and re-writing and editing i finally ended up with something that i'm not unhappy with so! yay omg
> 
> also!! please please go check out the art pieces my partner did for this because i absolutely adore them oh my god she deserves all the likes and reblogs:
> 
> happy reading!!

Tohru Honda is born with a tattoo of an orange cat on the inside of her left wrist.

Growing up, she’s never able to figure out its meaning. Her mother tells her that it could be an omen of some kind, but not to dwell on it too much. “After all, you have it,” she says one evening, smiling at her. “It can’t be bad if it’s on you.”

It helps that she’s interested in the cat from the Chinese zodiac. When her mother tells her the story and her heart begins to ache for the Cat, she just has to look down at the tattoo and imagine that it’s the same cat; because it’s on her, she can help it not be so lonely anymore. It feels more like a good luck charm to her, after that.

When she meets Hana-chan and Uo-chan, they’re both very interested in it for different reasons. “Woah,” Uo says when they’re just starting down the path of friendship, “is that some sort of gang symbol? But you don’t seem like the kind of girl to be in a gang…”

“I don’t know!” Tohru says cheerfully. “My mom says I was born with it and that it could be some kind of omen for something!”

Uo stares at her, open-mouthed, for a few moments. “That’s rad,” is her eventual response.

Hanajima doesn’t see it the same way Uo does, though. When they’re finally all friends, she asks about it softly one day, and Tohru tells her exactly what she told Uo.

“Interesting,” Hanajima murmurs, touching it curiously with the tip of her finger. “It gives off the strangest of waves, but… I don’t think they’re bad ones, exactly. And yet… I could be wrong.”

Tohru takes to covering her mark when she can.

When her mother dies and she has to move in with her grandfather, she spends the first few days in a haze of despair. At night, when she can’t sleep, she sits on the edge of her bed and stares at the mark.

It almost feels like the cat is mocking her in the white moonlight.

“Is it your fault?” she whispers brokenly to it, stroking it with her thumb. “Are you why Mom died?” Logically, she knows that it can’t be, because it’s nothing more than a weird marking on her body that she happened to be born with, but she can’t help thinking over the possibility.

Eventually, she decides that no, it can’t be. She still loves the cat from the zodiac, after all, and this mark is still her good luck charm because she wants it to be! Her mom’s passing was just a horrible stroke of bad luck, that’s all. She stops hiding it after that, even though it does get her weird looks from her peers sometimes. She wants to be proud of this cat, no matter what others think.

Then her grandfather tells her about the renovations, and she ends up moving out and into a tent she buys on sale until further notice. She refuses to lose hope, though, because she’ll get through this as well! It can be like practice for when she has to permanently live on her own in the future, so she can’t be too upset.

And so, life’s going fairly well for her at the moment. She’s got some hardships, sure, but she’ll power through them, because she’s Tohru Honda, and she’s got a good luck charm on her side!

She smiles down at the mark while she’s walking to school one morning. The cat no longer seems mocking; it looks encouraging, like it’s telling her _you’ve got this, you can do it._

“Thank you, Cat-tattoo,” she says to herself, giggling.

She pauses to bask in the sunlight and breeze, smiling at the feel of them both. “The breeze feels so good,” she says, sighing happily, and then a sudden noise comes from the clearing below. It’s a bell, she realizes after a moment, and she glances over curiously.

There’s a house in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by trees and even a pond that’s in the front yard. It’s completely unfamiliar to her, and she can’t shake the growing curiosity the sight brings within her.

“I’m a little early today,” she muses to herself, tugging on a strand of hair. “I can probably look around and still make it to school in time!”

Newly determined to explore what she can of the place, she makes her way down to the house, wandering the perimeter carefully. When she rounds the corner that brings her to the porch, she spots a little set of zodiac animal-paperweights. Delighted, she leans down to look at them. “Adorable,” she breathes.

“Well, here’s something you don’t see every day.”

She shrieks and bounces back from the display, surprised to find a rather tall man standing behind the display. “A high school girl all the way out here isn’t very common,” he adds, flashing a friendly smile.

“Ah, I’m sorry!” she says quickly, bowing a few times to emphasize her apology. “I apologize for looking without permission! I just thought the little display was cute!”

He chuckles and gestures to the paperweights with the newspaper he’s holding. “It’s fine. They’re drying right now, so look all you like.”

“Oh, thank you!” she says, giggling nervously and tilting her head down to look at them again. She smiles softly as she takes in the twelve animals, and that’s when she realizes that the cat is missing. Disappointed, she unconsciously rubs the cat tattoo on her wrist. _Oh, well,_ she thinks, _the cat’s usually missing, anyway._

“I’m surprised a teenager is interested in them, though,” the man continues after a minute, and she flinches back into a straight-standing position, startled at his sudden voice. “I mean, I’m quite fond of them myself, personally, but…”

“Oh, no, they’re adorable!” she cries, floundering for an explanation because she knows that it really is unusual for someone her age to be interested in the Chinese Zodiac, of all things. “I really like the story of the zodiac! But, well… I see that there’s no cat,” she finishes softly, looking the paperweights over again before glancing back up at the man.

He looks surprised as he bends down beside to check the paint on the figures. “The cat? Ah, you mean the one from the old story, then?”

“Yes! My mom liked to tell me that version,” she says, smiling fondly at the memory. “I always felt so sad for the cat when it couldn’t go to the banquet. I even wanted to change my year of the dog to the cat instead,” she admits, giggling. Not that it really matters, now; the mark makes her feel better about not having the year she wants.

“Interesting,” the man muses, a knowing smile stretching widely across his face. “I wonder how he’d feel if he heard that.”

Tohru blinks. “He?” she asks, tilting her head, and his smile just grows.

“So, your year’s the dog then, huh?” he says suddenly, leaning in closer and dropping his voice like he’s sharing a secret. “That’s funny, I knew I felt something between us. See, I’m also a d–”

Something slams onto the top of his head and Tohru jumps back with a startled cry.

“Stop bothering the poor girl,” a smooth voice cuts in, and Tohru honestly wonders if she’s dreaming for a split second because that’s _Yuki Sohma_ standing before her.

She stares as the man groans, “That _hurt!_ Do you have a whole dictionary in there or something?” and Yuki Sohma states flatly, “No, I have two.” Then he turns to her, smiling much more kindly now, and says, “Good morning, Miss Honda. My cousin didn’t bother you too badly, I hope?”

“Sohma-kun,” she says, still partially in shock. “G-good morning!”

“Oh, you know Yuki?” the man says, interested, injury already forgotten.

“We’re in the same class,” Yuki answers before she can say, _Oh, no, not really! I only know him by his princely reputation around school!_

Shigure just nods, satisfied. If he notices how flustered Tohru still looks, he ignores it. “I’m his older and much less violent cousin Shigure, by the way. And you’re…?”

“Ah, I’m Tohru Honda!” she answers, bowing once more, a little less frantically this time. “It’s very nice to meet you!” She lifts her hand in a cheerful wave, realizing only a second too late that she’s unintentionally flashing them the cat tattoo. She may be used to it by now, but not everyone is, and this is proven yet again when the two Sohmas gasp upon seeing it. Wincing, Tohru lowers her arm and twists her wrist just enough to hide it from view.

“Yeah, it’s weird, huh?” she says, giggling awkwardly. Yuki and his cousin continue to stare at her with huge eyes.

When the silence persists, Tohru rubs her wrist again, stroking the mark. “Yeah, um, I- I was born with it! I haven’t been able to figure out why, but it’s not really an issue. I like cats, anyway, so I don’t mind it at all!” She smiles, trying to hide how nervous she is. People often get concerned over the mark, but she’s never faced reactions quite like the ones Yuki and Shigure are giving her.

“I’m sorry,” Yuki finally says, his voice faint. He steps carefully off the porch and walks up to her, eyes narrowed. She blinks up at him nervously, wondering if she’d somehow offended him. “You… were born with that thing? That _cat?_ ”

“Um, y-yes!” she squeaks. “I’m sorry, Sohma-kun, I hope I didn’t offend you somehow! I used to hide the mark, you see, but I eventually decided to stop because, well, I like it! But I don’t know, maybe I should start hiding it again if it’s bothering people–”

Shigure interrupts her rambling with a chuckle. “It’s alright, Tohru. We’re not offended by it or anything-”

“Speak for yourself,” Yuki mutters so lowly than Tohru wonders if she imagined it.

“-just a little surprised,” Shigure finishes, casting a stern look at Yuki.

“Wh… why?” she says, chancing a look at her mark again. The cat almost glows in the sunlight and Yuki huffs at the sight of it.

“It’s nothing, Miss Honda.” The tone of his voice suggests otherwise, but Tohru just bites her lip and looks away, refusing to push him. They’re practically strangers, after all. “School should be starting soon,” he adds. “Why don’t you go on ahead? I’ll see you there.”

It’s a clear dismissal if there ever was one, but Tohru isn’t offended. “Oh! You’re right, Sohma-kun. Um, have a good morning, both of you!” She bows once, then turns and starts down the path.

She glances back once to see Yuki and Shigure speaking together, heads tilted close to each other. It looks important, and not at all any of Tohru’s business, so she turns away and smiles down at the mark.

“Well, that was interesting,” she murmurs, giggling. “Sorry people are still so freaked out by you, Cat-Tattoo.”

As always, there’s no response, but Tohru’s smile never strays on her way to school.

* * *

“D’you know why the prince keeps lookin’ at you, Tohru?”

Tohru jerks in surprise at the sudden noise and looks up, blinking. “Sorry?”

Uo raises an inquiring eyebrow at her. “Yuki Sohma keeps glancing over here. He looks a little frustrated, wouldn’t you say, Hanajima?”

“Yes,” Hanajima agrees swiftly. Tohru follows her gaze and winces when she sees that her friend is glaring in Yuki’s direction. He’s not looking at her presently, but Tohru knows that Uo wasn’t lying about him looking at her. She frowns down at the cat mark as Hanajima adds, “What happened? Did you see him before class and have some sort of disagreement?”

“Oh, no, nothing of the sort!” she cries, dropping her ladle to wave her hand around. “I ran into him on my way to school, and, well-”

Hanajima’s gaze snaps to hers. “Yes?”

“He just- he saw my… my mark,” she says, voice dropping just a little. Though she doesn’t actively hide it anymore, she’s still not too keen on talking about it in public. She’s well aware that it still weirds some people out, unintentionally replaying her interaction with the Sohmas that morning in her mind. “And, um, he seemed kind of… upset by it? It just made him uncomfortable, I think. But he was still nice!”

“Really? That’s so lame,” Uo sighs. “I know he’s the prince and all, but I didn’t think something like that would bother him. Isn’t he kinda strange, too?”

Tohru laughs softly and starts stirring her stew again. “Oh, I don’t know about that.”

“No, I agree,” Hanajima says quietly, and Tohru tilts her head questioningly. “Something about his waves are, indeed, _very_ strange.” The look she casts Yuki, who’s in the corner of the room, makes Tohru shiver and turn back to the food she’s preparing, stirring just a little faster.

“Oh, don’t scare Tohru like that,” Uo says, rolling her eyes. “Your Wave Reports are getting spookier every day, Hanajima.”

“I don’t control what the waves are like,” she says blankly. “I just say what they are.”

Tohru chances another look at Yuki, but he’s still thoroughly distracted by his group. “What kind of strange do you mean, Hana-chan?”

“I’m not quite sure, really,” Hanajima admits slowly, and Tohru can tell that she’s frustrated. Hanajima hates it when the waves she feels aren’t clear, and Yuki’s seem to be bothering her immensely. “I can’t decide if it’s a good strange, though.”

Uo hums, leaning against their table to join them in staring. Tohru wonders if he can feel their eyes on him and then drops her gaze nervously. Probably not, since she herself hadn’t noticed _his_ staring, but she doesn’t want to chance it. “He is pretty weird,” she agrees, nodding. “Y’know a second-year confessed to him a while back, right? She tried to hug him and he shoved her away. Sent her flying and really scared the hell out of her.”

“Really?” Tohru exclaims, blinking. “I didn’t know about that. I wonder why he reacted like that.”

Yuki’s turning out far more mysterious than she expected. Maybe it’s coincidence, maybe it’s not, but Tohru gets the feeling that her tattoo is involved, somehow, if only for his odd reaction to it.

“Well, whatever,” Uo says dismissively. “Hey, Hanajima and I were thinking of going shopping after school. Wanna come?”

“Oh, I can’t, sorry! I have work today,” Tohru says, smiling apologetically. She doesn’t mind her job at all, not really, but she still briefly entertains the idea of accompanying her friends. Work is important, she knows, but being with Uo and Hanajima just sounds so much more fun. “If it’s just the two of you, though, it can be like a date!”

“Aren’t dates usually meant for, like, restaurants and stuff?” Uo says, frowning. “Shopping isn’t really up to that level.”

“We went to the park last week,” Hanajima says. Her smile is back, Tohru realizes with relief. “That was nice. I wouldn’t mind shopping as a date.”

Uo grins back. “You really don’t care where I take you, huh?”

“Being alone with you is all I could ask for,” Hanajima replies grandly, and she grasps Uo’s hands dramatically. “I’d follow you anywhere.”

“Gross,” Uo says, making a face. She’s blushing, though, and Tohru giggles.

“See? You don’t need me! Go have fun together. We can hang out when I’m off next!”

“Yeah, but when’s that?”

Tohru tilts her head and mentlly runs through her schedule for the next week. “Um… oh, this weekend!”

“Four days away? Man, that sucks,” Uo sighs, crossing her arms with a frown. “You’re working all the time now just ‘cause you agreed to pay your own tuition.”

“It’s almost daily,” Hanajima agrees in that soft voice of hers. “That’s a lot for just a tuition, don’t you think so?” She eyes Tohru curiously, who laughs nervously and waves them off.

“Oh, but I’d like to live by myself after I graduate! Housing is expensive, so I want to start saving up now.”

Uo sniffles dramatically like she always does whenever they talk about Tohru’s future. “Don’t make me get all emotional! Just eat your food and- and start building up strength so you can do that!”

Giggling, she accepts the bowl of rice Hanajima passes her. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Hey, you’re still staying at your grandpa’s place, right?” Uo adds suddenly, and Tohru flinches so hard she almost drops her food.

“Um! Yes!” she squeaks, ducking her head to hide her relief when Uo just hums her acknowledgement.

“Old man better be feeding you, at least,” she mutters, “and not taking all your wages for himself. I’ll drive my motorcycle straight through his house if I have to!”

“It’s all fine!” Tohru says quickly, forcing herself to grin. “That’s- that’s not necessary.”

She hates keeping things from her friends, but how can she admit to living in a tent? Uo would probably blame Tohru’s grandfather for making her live there. Tohru winces at the very image and just vows to make sure her friends never find out. Like she does whenever she hopes for a stroke of good luck, she rubs her wrist where the mark is located and smiles.

Class passes by quickly after that, and soon Tohru is cleaning up beside her friends. When she’s in the middle of stacking their bowls, Uo nudges her gently. “He’s _looking_ again,” she hisses.

“What?” Tohru whispers back. Uo tilts her head in the direction of Yuki’s corner and Tohru can’t help glancing over at him.

He is staring again, that’s for sure, but when Tohru doesn’t meet his eyes, she realizes that he’s not staring directly at her. She tries to follow his gaze and realizes with a start that his intense stare is trained right on her wrist.

It’s just as confusing as it was this morning. Tohru pushes the stack in Hanajima’s direction for her to put away and clasps her hands together over her front, carefully covering the mark. When she looks back up at Yuki, he’s no longer staring.

“Man, what is this guy’s problem?” Uo mutters heatedly. “It’s just a frickin’ tattoo. Tohru, give me the word and I’ll talk to him for you, make him chill out.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary!” she says quickly, giggling nervously. “He’s probably just really confused. Or maybe he knew someone else with something similar and is wondering why I have it too!”

Hanajima rejoins them at their table and casts another suspicious look at Yuki. “Maybe, but I’m not so certain. Just be wary of him, Tohru.”

It’s a silly request, Tohru thinks, but she just nods her agreement and smiles at the satisfied look on her friend’s face. “I’ll be careful!” she says cheerfully. “I’m sure whatever is bothering him won’t last forever.”

That is, she certainly hopes so.

* * *

She runs into Yuki on her way out of the school that afternoon.

“Oh! Sohma-kun!” she says, startled. She hadn’t been expecting to see him again today, but then she remembers that they live nearby each other; they were bound to run into each other again sooner or later. “Um… how was your walk to school this morning?” she asks after a moment. It’s not really the most interesting of questions, but she felt like she had to say _something_.

“Miss Honda,” he greets, smiling softly. “It was fine, thank you. I…” He glances away for a moment, and Tohru can see that he’s frowning slightly. Nervously, she reaches up to tug a strand of hair.

“I should be apologizing for my attitude this morning, actually,” he says a few moments later. “I’m afraid I may have… overreacted to what you said.” He shuts his locker while Tohru just gapes at him. “For that, I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me.” And he smiles at her again, looking for all the world the prince everyone says he is.

“Um! N-not at all!” she cries, releasing her hair to wave her hands around frantically again. She realizes her mistake the second Yuki’s gaze catches on her wrist again and she squeaks, arms flying back to hide behind her. “I-I mean, yes, I forgive you, b-but I really should’ve known better about, um, th-the thing. I need to take better care at hiding it, so, please, it’s not your fault!”

She finally stops, her breathing a little erratic. This is the second time she’s gotten winded just from speaking to Yuki Sohma, and it’s a little concerning.

“No,” Yuki says finally, shaking his head. “You did nothing wrong. I…” He pauses, staring at the ground like he’s thinking something over, before saying, “Can I walk you home? As an apology for this morning.”

Tohru blinks at him, tilting her head. “Um, s-sure! But I’m actually going to work, first, so if that’s out of your way, then, please, don’t let me take up your time!”

“That’s alright,” Yuki says, and his smile comes back. “I don’t mind. Where are we headed, then?”

Somehow, she manages to give directions to her job that make sense, and they start on their way silently, Tohru trailing behind Yuki.

After a few minutes, Torhu can feel the silence weighing on her like a physical force, and so she starts talking about the first thing to come to mind. “Your cousin seems like a nice person!” she says, fighting back a nervous giggle. There’s just something so nerve-wracking about talking to him, especially after this morning, and she desperately hopes he isn’t still upset with her.

He _had_ smiled, though, so maybe everything is alright?

“He even let me look at the cute little zodiac figurines, which was much appreciated,” she continues, letting herself smile at the memory. It would’ve been much nicer had the cat been included, of course, but she’s used to the cat’s absence. Sighing, she runs a finger over her wrist, a habit that she’ll have to work on breaking if she wants to draw less attention to the mark, now.

“That’s right,” Yuki says softly. Tohru jumps at the sudden noise and looks back up at him, but he’s still walking, not facing her. She relaxes just as he adds, “I believe you were saying something about wanting to… be a Cat?”

Oh, she had said that. Wincing at her idiocy, she admits, “Yeah, I was a strange kid like that. Sorry.”

Yuki hums. “The Cat is an idiot,” he says, and his voice is flat, but she can sense a hint of anger under his words, too. She stares at him as he continues. “Stubborn, too. It was never supposed to be a part of the rest of the zodiac. They were invented as a way to tell time, you know.”

Tohru hadn’t actually known that, but she keeps quiet, following him as he goes on.

“They were first used as clock divisions. Eventually, elemental relationships were added in, like yin and yang, and they began to be used as fortune-telling tools.”

_Fortune-telling tools_ … Tohru touches her mark again, lightly, as it heats up the slightest bit. It’s been doing that a lot lately, now that she thinks about it, and she tries to tell herself that it doesn’t mean anything.

She’s not sure she believes that.

“The truth is, the math never left any room for the Cat from the beginning. And I think that’s for the best, honestly. Being allowed to join the zodiac… what’s so great about that? Better to be alone. Stupid Cat,” he mutters, finally trailing off.

Tohru isn’t sure how to respond. He sounds casual, like everything he’s saying is fact, but how is that possible? The zodiacs aren’t meant to be taken so literally, or seriously. Why is he talking like they are?

_Very strange,_ Hanajima had said about him. _His waves are very strange._

“Sorry, but I… I don’t understand,” Tohru admits carefully. “Are you saying that you hate cats?” It’s ridiculous, but the idea makes her a little defensive, as though she has to defend the existence of every cat out there when, really, it’s only her mark that she wants to defend. She just can’t figure out why.

Yuki pauses at that, and she draws to a stop behind him, still staring when he finally turns to face her. Something about the look in his eyes unnerves her completely, and she’s almost relieved when her watch beeps, signalling that she’s cutting it close to getting to work on time. “Oh, sorry! I have to hurry up and get to work!” She jogs around him, turning back when she’s a few feet away to wave carefully. “Um. I’ll see you around, Sohma-kun!”

“Take care, Miss Honda,” he says. He nods once, then turns to cross the road, no doubt heading home to the house she saw this morning.

Halfway to work, the wind ruffles her hair, and a leaf is shaken loose from her bangs. She catches it, twirls it between her fingers, and then releases it into the breeze.

* * *

Tohru forgot how quickly it gets dark these days.

An hour before her shift ends has the sky going a deep blue, and as she leaves it’s pitch-black and cloudy. Walking through the woods is always the worst part about getting home, but it’s her best option, and so she shivers in the wind and jumps at every slight noise as she makes her way back to her tent.

At some point, she thinks she hears voices - _men’s voices_ , no less - and she freezes for a second before twitching with fear at what sounds like footsteps. She breaks into a jog, whimpering under her breath and wishing with every fiber in her being that she can just make it home.

Thankfully, she spots her tent only moments later, and she smiles down at the cat marking gratefully as she drops to her knees and crawls inside. She doesn’t notice how exhausted she is until she’s turning on her light and greeting the photo of her mom with, “Hey, Mom, I’m finally back!”

She pushes her bag to the side and sighs, rubbing her eyes. “I’m really sleepy, but I still have some homework to finish before tomorrow. I’m feeling a little… weak.” She laughs softly at the image of her mother’s teasingly scolding face if she were to see her only daughter in this state. “It’s fine. I’ll just wash my face. That should wake me up, right?”

Satisfied with her plans, she grabs her washcloth and crawls back out, only to freeze upon seeing two pairs of legs standing right before her. Blinking, she looks up and then gasps when she sees that it’s the Sohma cousins.

_Oh, gosh,_ is all she has time to think before Shigure starts to laugh at her, far too loudly considering how late it is. Her face flares up and she drops her gaze, chewing her lip a little too hard as she hears Yuki snap, “It’s not that funny.”

“A tent,” Shigure wheezes, continuing to shriek with laughter. “She-she’s in a tent!”

“God, you’re awful,” Yuki hisses, kicking his cousin in the shin. Shigure doesn’t even react, still doubled over. Tohru winces and pushes herself into a standing position, wringing her hands at the sight of Yuki’s fiery glare and Shigure’s inability to do much more than laugh. “Miss Honda. Hello,” he says to her, much more softly than before.

“H-hi,” she manages, and she can’t even bring herself to meet his gaze.

“Why don’t you come back to the house with us?” he suggests a minute later. Tohru has half a mind to decline, but then realizes that she’s far too tired and also doesn’t want to risk upsetting them, and that’s how she finds herself at the Sohma house for the second time in just a day.

She kneels on one side of the table, blinking back embarrassed tears at the sound of Shigure’s muffled laughter. _This day has been so hectic_ , she thinks to herself. _I just want to sleep_. Like she’s come to do often today, she rubs at the cat mark. Nothing happens when she does, but it still makes her feel a little better.

“I thought something was strange when we saw you walking in the woods so late at night,” Yuki says suddenly. Tohru jumps, startled, but still doesn’t look at him. The  
mortification at being discovered is still strong. “I’d heard you’d moved, but it couldn’t have been here. The Sohmas own all the land in this area, and we haven’t rented any out for some time.”

So that’s how they found out. She’s so _stupid_ , just setting up camp on the first empty field she found. It’s a wonder that they hadn’t found out sooner. “Um,” she starts, grasping the edges of her skirt tightly. “Would it be okay if… if I lived there just a little longer? I’ll leave as soon as my grandpa’s renovations are over, I swear. Please. I- I don’t have a lot of extra money,” she admits, wincing when her face only grows warmer, “but I’ll pay if- if you want.”

To her surprise, Shigure is the one to respond. “That’s a dangerous spot,” he says, something like concern in his eyes and amusement in the tilt of his mouth. “The cliffs are unstable, and there are creeps hanging around quite often.”

“Finally done laughing, then?” Yuki mutters, rolling his eyes.

“Not to mention,” Shigure continues, smoothly rolling over his cousin’s words, “a young girl like yourself can’t spend months living in a tent all alone.”

“No, it’s alright!” she cries, jumping up in an attempt to show them just how capable she is of continuing to live there. “I’m even used to the slugs! I promise, I’ve got the strength and willpower to see this through! So please, just let me-”

It’s like a switch is flipped somewhere inside her; suddenly, she’s completely drained of all of her energy and she collapses, unable to continue her speech. Dimly, she’s aware of Yuki calling her name and rounding the table to kneel next to her, but she’s far too tired to even murmur that she’s _fine, just tired, there’s no need to worry!_

“A fever,” Yuki says eventually. He sounds worried.

“Let me grab some ice to help cool her down,” Shigure replies, only to add once he’s slid open the kitchen doors, “Though, uh… that may take a while.”

Tohru, even in her current state, is vaguely horrified at the state of their kitchen. “It’s like a toxic jungle,” she manages.

“Nice analogy!” Then he pauses, looking thoughtfully off into the distance before continuing with, “And look at that. The cliff collapsed just like I said it would.”

“What? How- how do you know?”

Shigure looks at her mysteriously. “Oh, it’s a little something I like to call my animal instinct.”

All Tohru can do is blink up at him. “Oh. Um, okay.” Animal instinct? Is it a zodiac joke or something? The Sohmas seem just as oddly invested in the story as she is, so she wouldn’t be surprised if it was.

“Enough joking around,” Yuki says, tugging a medical kit out from under their television stand. “Do you know what part of the cliff collapsed?”

Oh, no, that’s right. Tohru knits her fingers together and says carefully, “It couldn’t have been anywhere near my tent, though, right?” She giggles nervously, but can’t shake the feeling that that’s exactly what happened.

“Surely not!” Shigure says confidently, grinning.

It’s exactly that.

Where Tohru’s tent was barely an hour before is a mountain of dirt, dark and damp and almost completely obscuring her only belongings.

“Mom’s picture is still inside,” she says numbly, staring in horror at the mess.

The panic hits her then and she dives at the dirt, digging through it as fast as she can and crying, “Mom!”

“You need to calm down,” Yuki’s saying suddenly, and she looks up at him through a sheen of unshed tears.

“She can’t breathe,” she says desperately. “She’s trapped, she can’t breathe, I have to get her out, I can’t-”

Shigure’s hand covers her own and she stares at it blankly, struggling to not let the tears flow. She wants her mom, _now_.

“Why don’t we come back in the morning?” Shigure suggests in the gentlest voice she’s heard from him all day. “There’ll be more light then. Your mom wouldn’t want you to get hurt trying to get to her, after all.”

It takes a few moments for the words to resonate with her, but, eventually, Tohru nods, weakly. “Y-yeah. Okay. I’ll come back… in the morning.”

She follows them back to the house in a daze and hardly registers it when Yuki drags out a spare futon for her and Shigure coaxes her under the blanket. Only once she’s lying down do the events of the evening hit her, and she feels her eyes well up again, only this time it’s in shame. Humiliation, maybe. She can’t believe she’s gone and let the only home she has get destroyed, and, even worse, has dragged the Sohma family into it.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles, and she watches blearily as Shigure pauses and turns to look down at her silently. “It seems that I’ve lost my home again.”

Instead of leaving her to sleep like she’s expecting, Tohru watches, surprised, as Shigure lowers himself to the floor beside her. “That must be hard,” he says, and his smile is soft. It makes her feel only marginally better, but not enough to not feel as though she owes an explanation to him.

“Not really,” she admits quietly. “I wish this hadn’t happened, of course, but… I’ve been through worse.”

“Even worse than this? Like what?”

He sounds genuinely curious. Tohru’s too tired to brush off his question, too, and so she talks about the day her mom died and how she missed the chance to say goodbye, just one more time. It hurts to talk about, but thinking about her mom’s smile eases the pain, just a little.

“It’s funny,” she says after a while, forcing herself to conjure up the slightest of smiles. “That cat marking I have, the one you and Sohma-kun don’t like, used to feel like a… a bad sign, of some kind. Like it was the reason I didn’t get up in time to see Mom that day. But… I decided that I didn’t want it to be. I wanted it to be a good thing. And now, it helps to remind me that I just have to get through life, like Mom wanted me to.”

She hears Shigure shift, like he’s ready to leave, and she closes her eyes. She’s so tired.

“I just… I can’t let something like this stop me. I’m not going to lie here and do nothing because of some… some fever. And the mark h-helps me to keep going. I just wanted you to know that.”

The mark goes warm again, like it can almost understand her, and she falls asleep as her smile turns real.

* * *

When Tohru wakes up, she spends a few seconds blinking away a stray tear before she remembers the previous night. Then she shoots up with a gasp.

“Oh, I can’t sleep! I have to go save Mom!” she cries, and almost trips in her haste to get up and out the door. She shoves it open forcefully and then freezes at the sight of Yuki, who’s standing just outside and smiling at her.

“Good morning,” he says, and her gaze drops to the bags in his hand. _Did he go shopping?_ she wonders absently as he adds, “How are you feeling?”

“Oh! Um, I’m okay! Good morning, Sohma-kun!”

He steps up to the porch and holds out something with his other hand, smiling more gently now. “Here’s your photo.”

It’s her mom’s photo.

Tohru takes it slowly, staring at it in wonderment as Yuki continues with, “I’m pretty sure I got the rest of your things, too, but please check and see. I’ll go back for anything I left behind.”

Her gaze jumps from the photo to Yuki and she blinks at him rapidly for a few moments before blurting, “Did you move all of the dirt by yourself?!”

“Oh, no, of course not.”

“But…” Tohru wonders for a second if she’s still asleep, because this morning is already off to a strange start. Then again, she already spent the night at the Sohma’s, which was odd enough itself. “How?”

Yuki’s expression slips into something a little more closed-off, but his smile never wavers. “I can’t tell you.”

Oh. Tohru nods quickly, but she’s unable to shake the sudden feeling that whatever it is Yuki isn’t telling her is related to his less-than-fortunate reaction to her marking. Almost like it’s agreeing, the mark warms again. She refuses to press, though, and just says, “Okay!”

Shigure suddenly pops up beside them and Tohru jumps, laughing sheepishly when Shigure just grins at her. “Good morning, children. Say, Yuki, did you still want to discuss that offer for Tohru?”

“I was getting to that,” he says, and Tohru tilts her head.

“Offer?”

Yuki uses his free hand to gesture to the stairs. “We have a spare room that you’re welcome to stay in until your grandfather’s house is done with renovations,” he says. “Just say the word and I can take your stuff up there.”

It takes a good ten seconds for the words to set in with Tohru, and when they do, she gasps. “What! Oh, I couldn’t do that!”

“The doors all have locks, though,” Yuki says, sounding genuinely confused. Tohru flushes, shaking her head rapidly.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant!”

“Do you enjoy housework, such as cooking and cleaning?” Shigure says, leaning in close, and Tohru stares at him. She hears Yuki sigh and say, “Oh, here we go.”

“Um… yes? It’s calming for me,” she admits carefully. She can’t tell if that’s the right answer, but it is an honest one.

Shigure squints at her for a few more seconds, then breaks into a blinding grin. “Wonderful! You can move right in.”

Tohru can’t do much more than gape as Shigure walks away, calling back, “You may want to open a window as your room’s not aired out, so keep that in mind! I’ll have to get you a copy of the house key, as well.”

“I- I can’t!” she cries, watching in dismay as Shigure keeps going. Yuki pauses to look at her, though, and so she turns her attention to him. “I’d only be a burden if I moved in!”

Yuki smiles a little. “It’s no burden, Miss Honda.” Then, as he turns, he adds, “Besides, where else do you have to go?”

Embarrassing as it is, it’s true, and so Tohru sighs and trails after Yuki, clutching her mom’s photo to her chest. The last twenty-four hours don’t feel real, and if she thinks about it for too long, her headache worsens. Silently, she rubs at the cat mark.

“If… if I’m going to live here, can you at least tell me if there are any house rules to follow?” she asks as they reach the stairs, and Yuki turns to smile at her again.

“All we ask is that you be yourself,” he says gently. His eyes fall on her wrist again as he says it, and Tohru unconsciously moves her wrist back. His smile twitches. “And… don’t worry about that. The mark. It’s really not a big deal.”

“Oh. Okay,” she says, nothing short of relieved. “Thank you, Sohma-kun!”

He blinks quickly at that, like he’s surprised, and then nods. “Of course.”

He follows Shigure up the stairs before she can say more, and Tohru lets herself just stand and process the morning for a few minutes. How is it that she’s homeless one moment and then being housed with the Sohmas the next? “They truly are a mystery,” she murmurs as she finally trails after them.

As she passes the window that marks the halfway point of the stares, Tohru suddenly flinches when the feeling of something almost like electricity prickles at her skin, right on the cat mark.

“What…?” she whispers, staring down at the mark. It looks harmless as always, but for the first time in a long while, Torhu’s suddenly very nervous at the sight of it.

_An omen_. Her mother always said the mark could very well mean something.

Carefully, she taps it with her finger. Nothing happens. She exhales and jogs up the rest of the stairs in time to join Yuki and Shigure in the room that’s meant to be hers.

She watches from the doorway as Yuki crosses the room to slide open the window and as Shigure heads back downstairs. _Is this really okay?_ she thinks, nervously shifting where she stands. _Can I really live with them? What would Mom say?_

“Window’s open,” Yuki calls.

The ceiling caves in.

Tohru yelps as something - somebody? - falls into the room, and when the dust clears, she sees that it’s a boy, maybe around her age. She stares at him with huge eyes, but Yuki doesn’t even fully turn around. Tohru can see traces of extreme annoyance on his features, though.

“Yo,” the boy says as he stands, and Tohru feels her mouth drop open because he’s _tall_ , taller than her by maybe a head, with the _brightest_ orange hair she’s ever seen, and he’s _fit_ , and-

She drops her gaze, face burning. _And he is a_ stranger _, Tohru!_ she chides herself. _A stranger who just fell through the roof, no less! Don’t start thinking like that!_

And then she realizes that her mark suddenly feels like it’s on fire. She gasps and wraps a hand around her wrist, but the heat is gone just as suddenly. _What was that?_

“Ready for a beating, rat boy?” the mystery boy says, and Tohru allows herself to look back up, this time in shock at the harsh words. “Let’s go.”

Yuki looks completely unfazed at this, which serves to confuse Tohru further. “God, why won’t you just accept it already?” he asks, smirking. “You’re too weak to take me, stupid cat.”

Stupid cat?

Tohru barely has time to think about what Yuki could possibly mean before the boy’s snapping, “Oh, you think so? That’s just too bad for you, since I’m not the same fighter that I was before!” And then he _launches_ himself across the room at Yuki.

Never one for solving issues with violence, Tohru dives after him, crying, “Wait, I’m sure we can settle this without-!”

She’s cut off with a gasp when her foot catches on a piece of debris and then she’s slipping, right into the boy. Startled, she throws her arms around him in an attempt to keep from falling, and then her mind starts screaming incoherently.

It takes her a moment to realize that it’s actually the boy screaming, and then he just - _falls_ , right out of her arms.

Tohru hits the ground with a sharp cry. From behind her, she hears Shigure ask faintly, “Yuki, was that Kyo I heard?”

“Unfortunately,” Yuki says. He sounds greatly agitated.

_Kyo_. Is that the boy she fell on? She shoots up with a gasp, blindly reaching a comforting hand to him as she cries, “I’m so sorry! Are you alright?!”

Then she stops, blinks, and gasps again.

There’s a cat lying on the floor where the boy should’ve been.

The cat looks entirely disgruntled, which is a weird look for a cat to have, and its fur is a familiar shade of orange, the same color as the boy’s hair and-

“Oh my gosh,” she breathes. Her gaze falls, once again, to the marking on her wrist. Slowly, she stretches out her arm until the mark lines up with the cat that’s now squinting at her suspiciously. Even then, she can hardly believe what she’s seeing.

It looks like the same cat.

“Yeah,” Shigure says with a sigh as Tohru looks back and forth between the two in shock. “That’s him.”

“Just our luck,” Yuki mutters.

“Oh, shut the fuck up,” the cat snarls, and Tohru jerks her arm back as it jumps to all fours and faces Yuki. Its fur bristles along its back and she finds herself weirdly tempted to pet it down. “I’m not the one who let a damn girl into the house, jackass! This is all _your_ fault!”

_What?_

Through her still-growing confusion, it takes Tohru a second to realize that the cat’s voice is familiar, and that’s when she realizes that the cat didn’t just take Kyo’s place - it _is_ him. “Why… why are you a cat?” she asks without thinking, and then flinches when Kyo’s fiery gaze whips to hers.

“Why do you think? You’re the one who fell on me!” he snaps. “Why the hell are you here, anyway?”

Tohru can barely stammer out a response. “I- I’m…”

“Kyo, have some manners,” Shigure chides, but Tohru can see a mischievous gleam in his eyes that suggests he doesn’t really expect Kyo to listen to him. “This is Tohru Honda. She’s living here until further notice, which means you chose the perfect time to show up!”

Something almost like fear flickers in Kyo’s eyes, but it’s gone too quickly for Tohru to tell. She must’ve wrongly assumed what the emotion was, though, because why on earth would he be scared of her? They’ve only just met.

“Whatever,” Kyo snaps after a moment. “I’m only here to beat Yuki’s ass, then I’m gone.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Shigure smiles, an incredibly nerve-wracking one, and Tohru unconsciously draws back a few centimeters from the look.

“Just spit it out, already, Shigure, I can tell how much you want to,” Yuki says suddenly. He’s still standing by the window, arms crossed and face drawn like he wants nothing more than to leave and take a long, long nap. “Get it over with so Miss Honda can decide what she wants to do.”

Decide what she wants to do? Hasn’t she already chosen to stay in the Sohma house - only slightly against her will, but it doesn’t matter. “I’m sorry?”

“Your _mark_ ,” Shigure says gleefully. “You know, the one Yuki hates so much.” Yuki scoffs, but doesn’t deny it.

Tohru blinks at him and then at her wrist. “What does it have to do with anything?”

“Oh, don’t tell me you haven’t noticed it already.” Shigure raises an eyebrow.

“What? Noticed what?” Kyo asks, nearly growling. “What’re you keepin’ me in the dark about this time, huh?”

“For god’s sake,” Yuki hisses, and then he’s marching across the room to Tohru. He grabs her wrist gently and turns it so the mark is fully facing Kyo. She just barely manages to not jerk her arm back for fear of - _whatever_ all of this may mean. “Look familiar, you stupid cat?”

Kyo rolls his eyes. “What? It’s just a dumb tattoo of a cat, I don’t-”

His words come to a halt so suddenly that Tohru’s a little concerned, even more so when his eyes bug so wide that they look like they could realistically fall right out. “Wait,” he says in a strangled voice. “Wait, that’s not-”

“It _is_ ,” Yuki snaps, his grip on her wrist tightening. She shifts restlessly, unsure if she should pull back or not. “So just accept it so we can explain everything to her and then go from there.”

“That-” Kyo scrambles back on shaky legs, his tail puffing up the same way Tohru’s seen stray cats do when they’re ready to back down from a fight. In any other situation, she thinks, it might look funny. Now, though, it’s just worrying. “She shouldn’t have that, what the fuck?”

“That’s what I thought,” Yuki says, and he sounds so bitter that Tohru unthinkingly puts a hand on his shoulder, hoping to calm him down. He looks at her, clearly still upset, but his frown fades, just a little. “But she does.”

Tohru doesn’t think she’s ever been so confused in her life. “Sohma-kun, I don’t understand.”

“Why don’t we go downstairs?” Shigure suggests. “Let Kyo process everything for a while.”

“Process…?”

Tohru glances at Kyo and finds him curled up in the corner of the room, staring at her blankly. The look frightens her, but she can’t help feeling guilty, since it feels like a lot of this situation is her fault for having her mark.

“Come on, Miss Honda.” Yuki helps tug her up from the floor and she trails after him silently, pausing in the doorway to look back at where Kyo is.

The corner is empty.

* * *

“He’ll come back eventually. He’s not getting out of fixing my roof after his spectacle this morning,” Shigure is saying, sipping at the cup of tea Tohru made him and then sighing happily. “Tohru, we really lucked out with you!”

“Ah - thank you,” she says, forcing a smile. It’s hard, if only because she’s so incredibly distracted.

Only a few minutes have passed since the incident in the spare room - or, well, _her bedroom_ , now - and Tohru still isn’t entirely sure what just happened. A boy fell through the window, _she_ fell on _him_ , he turned into a cat, she realized he looked like her mark, Yuki and Shigure said some cryptic things, and then Kyo disappeared.

What does it all mean?

“So! I’m sure you’re wondering about everything that just happened. Not that I blame you at all,” Shigure says, his voice shaking Tohru from her thoughts. “I think it’s time for a little Sohma history lesson, don’t you, Yuki?”

“Just get on with it,” Yuki mutters. He’s sitting beside Tohru at the table, idly pushing his teacup back and forth. His gaze is trained on the door, like he’s waiting for somebody to walk in. _For Kyo?_ Tohru thinks, and only then realizes that she’s been rubbing at her wrist for the past few minutes again. Despite everything, the mark looks the same as it always has.

The sound of Shigure setting down his cup makes Tohru jump, and her gaze flickers to his. He’s still smiling the same way he had been when the incident with Kyo happened, and Tohru finds that it’s still unnerving. “First off, as you can see, you accidentally turned Kyo into a cat earlier.”

“So that really was all my fault?” Tohru winces when she remembers how annoyed Kyo looked right after he’d transformed. What a horrible first impression _that_ was, then.

“Not entirely. Had any girl hugged him, the same thing would’ve happened.”

Oh. That was a normal reaction, then - normal for Kyo, at least. Tohru can’t help her sigh of relief at the words. “But… why?”

“It’s a curse,” Yuki interjects, and Tohru turns to stare at him, unsure if she heard him correctly. When Shigure doesn’t correct him, she has to actively keep her mouth from falling agape.

“A… curse?”

“The Sohma family curse,” Shigure replies, sounding far too cheerful for such a desolate-sounding subject. “Thirteen members of our family currently hold the unfortunate ability to transform into one of the Chinese zodiac animals when we’re hugged by someone of the opposite sex or, on occasion, physically weakened. The only exceptions to the rule are other zodiac members. Had Kyo been hugged by a female zodiac, he wouldn’t have changed. The curse has lasted for generations, so you could say we’re used to it. We also eventually turn back, so if you were concerned about you having permanently affected Kyo, don’t be. And, for the record, my zodiac is the dog and Yuki’s is the rat.” He grins at her, quite obviously amused by whatever look is on her face. “Questions?”

It takes a few moments for the words to sink in. Finally, Tohru blinks at Shigure and says, “That’s, um. That’s a lot to take in.”

“Isn’t it? But wait, there’s more!” He points at her wrist. “I’ll bet you’re still curious about that mark, huh?”

“Oh! You know why I have it?” Tohru can’t help the gasp that escapes her because, after sixteen years, is she finally going to get an answer for why her wrist is marked by the cat?

“I do indeed! Yuki, do you want to explain this part or should I?”

Yuki huffs slightly, as though he’s offended by the very idea. “I’d really rather not, thanks.”

“Your loss.” Shigure sighs dramatically before straightening in his seat and smiling at Tohru again. “Another part of the curse - though, arguably, not quite as bad - is that those of us zodiacs have what is commonly known as a soulmate.”

Tohru can’t help smiling at the word _soulmate_. “Oh, a soulmate? How romantic!” she says, clapping her hands. “So you have one, Shigure? And Yuki, as well?”

“Yep!” Shigure looks pleased that Tohru’s managed to keep up. “Neither of us have met ours yet, but they do exist. Now, these soulmates - for lack of a better term, really - aren’t all necessarily romantic. As far as we can tell based on past experience, these people that we’re destined to meet, one way or another, are some of the only ones we can trust with this whole thing - you know, the curse and whatnot. Some of us may meet our soulmate and decide to pursue them romantically, or we may keep the relationship entirely platonic. It’s really up to both of those involved. If you want an example, our family doctor met his a while back, but due to some… unfortunate circumstances, they were unable to maintain their romantic relationship.” Shigure’s smile twists slightly, almost into a sneer, and Tohru tries to not think about what kind of unfortunate circumstances would keep people apart like that. Luckily, he keeps talking before her thoughts can get away from her. “So, it’s not a guarantee. Sohma soulmates are just meant to be some kind of important person to us.”

“Ooh, I think I understand,” Tohru says, nodding slowly. “But how do you know when you’ve met them?”

“Ah.” Shigure smiles again. “That’s where the mark comes in. We know when we’ve met them if they bear the mark of our zodiac somewhere on their body. In my case, my soulmate would have the dog, and Yuki’s the rat.”

It’s only when he says that does something click into place in Tohru’s mind, and she gazes down at her mark again, unable to name the emotion that flows through her. “So… so that means that-”

“I knew you’d figure it out.” Shigure reaches out to grasp her wrist, neatly encircling the skin below the mark. “You, Tohru, are a rare case of being soulmates with a cursed Sohma, who just so happens to be Kyo in this case. That’s why you were born with the cat on you.” He releases her, but her wrist stays suspended in the air. She’s not sure she can really move, she’s so shocked.

_Soulmates… with Kyo. The boy cursed by the cat of the zodiac._

“I…”

Tohru can’t even think of a response. How does one react to something like this? It was weird enough having the mark to begin with, but to be told that it links her to a whole other person? And a Sohma, nonetheless. It doesn’t make any sense.

“It’s a lot to take in, I’m sure,” Yuki says. She turns to look at him automatically, but her mind’s still entirely on what Shigure just said. “It was weird for us to learn growing up, but I can’t imagine how you feel.” He looks irked, suddenly, and adds, “Miss Honda, I’m sorry you ended up linked to the Sohmas. You don’t deserve that.”

That, she can reply to. “Oh, Sohma-kun, don’t say that! I don’t-”

“Listen to Tohru!” Shigure chides with a grin. “We’re not really that terrible, Yuki.”

“Funny,” Yuki says flatly. Then, to Tohru, he adds, “We should probably be getting to school, Miss Honda.”

Tohru, still vaguely dazed, just nods. On her way back upstairs, she can hear Yuki and Shigure speaking quietly back in the main room. Yuki’s voice is harsh, but she can’t make out any of his words.

“Not my business,” she murmurs to herself, shaking her head and entering her room.

It’s only after she’s done changing into her uniform and grabbing her school bag that she notices the absence of Kyo’s clothing that he’d left behind. _Has he changed back, then?_ she thinks, and then Yuki’s calling, “Miss Honda? I think we’re late.”

One glance at her clock tells her that Yuki’s right and she gasps, hurrying back downstairs with all thoughts on curses and zodiac animals and Kyo gone in favor of focusing on making it to school in time. She pauses once to say goodbye to Shigure, then she’s following Yuki out the door and to the path.

* * *

“Wow, Tohru, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you late to school,” Uo says when Tohru walks in. “You oversleep or something?”

“Ah - something like that,” Tohru says quickly, giggling sheepishly.

She’s not sure how much she can tell her friends about what happened at the Sohma’s house, if anything at all. Nobody explicitly said that she _couldn’t_ , but it was clearly meant to stay a secret until she had exposed it by falling on Kyo. So, nothing, then. She’ll say nothing, as much as she wants to finally tell them that she knows what her mark is about. 

Though, to be fair, she’s still processing all of that herself.

Yes, she’ll just stay quiet.

“The prince was late, as well,” Hanajima says, and Tohru can see that she’s eyeing Yuki suspiciously. She smiles in amusement and rummages through her bag as Hanajima continues with, “Did you two walk together?”

“Yeah! I, um, ran into him on the way.” She feels her smile shrink just slightly at the lie, but it’s not like she can tell them she slept at his house. They still think she’s living with her grandfather, after all.

“Don’t let his little fanclub hear that,” Uo says, rolling her eyes. “But how was it? Is he still being weird towards you?”

Oh, that’s right. Tohru completely forgot about yesterday, she’s so caught up on everything from this morning. “Nope! He actually apologized for how he reacted. I didn’t think it was necessary, but he insisted.”

“Really? Good on him, then.” Uo gives an approving nod. “Maybe he is as princely as they say.”

“Oh, I think so! He really is very kind, Uo-chan. Maybe you and Hana-chan can befriend him, too!”

“He’s a friend already?” Hanajima asks, tilting her head. “That was fast.”

“Please, Tohru decided she and I were friends within, like, five seconds of us first meeting,” Uo scoffs. “A day has nothing on that.”

Class starts soon after that, and Tohru somehow manages to avoid thinking about anything other than her schoolwork. Before she knows it, the day is over and she’s waving her goodbyes to her friends while on her way out.

She’s hardly taken a few steps before she hears, “Miss Honda?” and she stops to peer back into the classroom.

“Oh, Sohma-kun, hello!” she greets cheerfully, walking in to join him.

“What did you tell your friends about this morning?” he says immediately. He’s leaning against the wall, staring at the ground with the same frustrated look he had when Shigure was telling her about the mark. “Is our secret safe?”

“I- I didn’t tell them anything,” she says, surprised, and then it hits her what he really means and she gasps. “Oh, no, were you worried I would blab about it to everyone?! I promise that you don’t have to worry about me. My mom would always tell me that only bad people spill secrets that have been entrusted to them, so I swear I won’t!”

He finally glances up from the floor to meet her gaze, and his expression softens a little. “That’s good to hear. Thank you, Miss Honda.”

“Of course! You can trust me to keep your secret safe, Sohma-kun,” she says, offering him a smile that she hopes is reassuring.

“I’m sure I can.” He smiles back for a split second before his expression falls again, and Tohru can’t help reaching out to touch his shoulder with soft concern again.

“Are… are you alright?”

A soft sigh slips from Yuki’s mouth. “If I’m being honest, no, not really.” He turns so he’s facing her completely, crossing his arms and staring at her, hard. “I know you already accepted our invitation to live with us, but I’d understand if you changed your mind now, Miss Honda.”

Tohru’s hand slips from his shoulder and she blinks at him quickly. Is she already being kicked out, albeit kindly? “Why… do you say that?” she asks quietly, and waits for him to tell her that she’s no longer welcome. Not that she can blame him, of course, after the debacle this morning.

“Because of your connection to my family. The Sohmas aren’t exactly pleasant people, if you haven’t gathered that from the stupid cat alone,” Yuki mutters, rolling his eyes. “If you ever feel uncomfortable, please know that you’re not forced to interact with him, or… any of us. Just let us know if you change your mind, okay?”

He looks so sad, suddenly, and Tohru gets the idea that he has several other things on his mind, none of which are pleasant.

Well, that won’t do.

“Thank you for your concern, Sohma-kun,” she says softly, and then, a little more firmly, “but that’s alright! You invited me into your home, and I’m happy that you’re still allowing me to live with you, even after I found out about your family’s secret. But I’ll be fine! I’m happy that I get to know you, and Shigure, too! And…” She glances down at her mark, smiling. “And I’ll be happy to get to know Kyo. I know what Shigure said, but I still want to try to at least be friends with him. I have this mark for a reason, right?”

When the silence stretches out for longer than she wants it to, she looks up to find Yuki staring at her with what almost looks like awe, but that can’t be right. “You’re a good person, Miss Honda,” he finally says, and the smile he gets is the realest one she’s seen on him yet.

“Ah! Thank you, Sohma-kun, you’re too kind!” she exclaims, ducking her head when she feels her face go warm with embarrassment. She can’t help but smile, too, though.

“We should probably head home, now,” he says after a moment, and Tohru’s smile grows at the word home.

“Yeah, let’s go!”

* * *

Of all the things she’s expecting to see in her new room when they get home, it certainly isn’t Kyo.

He’s back in his human form - and, wow, Tohru’s not sure she’ll get used to thinking that any time soon - and looks busy finishing patching up the roof. The giant hole is covered, at least.

“Um, hi!” she says, and then gasps when Kyo flinches so hard he tumbles off the ladder and onto the floor.

“ _Ow_ , dammit!”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” she cries, reaching out to touch him and then jerking her hand back when he whips his head around to glare at her.

“I’m fine!” he snaps, pushing himself back into a standing position. Then, instead of leaving, he seems to hesitate where he stands, dropping his gaze from hers to instead glare at the floor.

The room falls into an awkward silence. Downstairs, Tohru can almost completely make out the sound of Yuki walking around, it’s so quiet. She supposes she can’t blame him for falling silent so suddenly, though. It’s not everyday you meet your zodiac-assigned soulmate.

Is that a good way to describe it? She should work on that.

Finally, she manages to get out, “Um, thank you for fixing the ceiling. I appreciate it.”

He still doesn’t look at her even as he responds. “Yeah. You’re gonna need to call a professional to really fix it, though. Just make sure to keep rainwater out for now.”

“Thank you,” she repeats, awkwardly. Since she can’t meet his gaze, she looks down at the cat mark instead. It’s still so strange that the person technically behind her mark is right here in front of her. Tohru’s not sure she’ll ever be able to completely wrap her head around it.

More silence. Then, right as Tohru is about to leave and let Kyo be alone like she suspects he’d like, he calls, “Hey!”

“Y-yes?” she says, startled.

Kyo’s hand clenches around the roll of tape he’s holding. “I, uh. I can get kind of a one-track mind when I’m upset. So… about this morning… when I got all angry and shit…”

Tohru stares at him when he trails off. “Um-”

“I just! I wanted to say… that I’m-”

“Yuki, Tohru, I’m home!” Shigure’s suddenly shouting. Tohru jumps when Kyo does and then turns towards the doorway as Shigure adds, “Is our resident clumsy kitten still here?”

The sound of metal clinking has Tohru turning back to Kyo and then jumping out of his way with a cry as he runs out of the room with the ladder, yelling, “Just forget it, dammit!”

She hesitates for only a second before dropping her bag to run after him, calling back, “Wait, please, what were you saying?” Whatever it was, it sounded important, and she suddenly wants nothing more than to let him finish.

When she finally catches up to him, he’s already curled up on the porch, staring off into the woods. She sighs slightly and then waves at Shigure as he steps into the room, Yuki right behind him.

“Afternoon, Tohru! And Kyo, good, I’m glad to see you’re still with us,” he says, laughing when Kyo just grunts. “What, no greeting? Fine.”

“Fuck off.”

“So rude,” Shigure says, wiping what could be a stray tear from his eye. “Tohru, did he fix the roof?”

“Oh! He did, yes,” she replies, casting a smile in Kyo’s direction even when he doesn’t look at her. “It looks much better than before.”

“Good! Anyway, onto bigger and better news,” he says, kneeling at the table and waving for Tohru and Yuki to join. They do, although Yuki looks a little more suspicious than Tohru is. “I figured I should announce this. I already spoke to Akito - that’s our family head, Tohru, in case you were unaware - about our situation yesterday, but I had to go back after this morning.”

Beside her, Yuki stiffens. “And? How did that go?”

“Oh, calm down, Yuki. Thanks to Tohru’s little mark, she’s now fully allowed to live with us. Akito’s allowing it for that alone.” Shigure grins at her. “Having Kyo for a soulmate has some perks, it looks like.”

Tohru flushes, unable to resist looking at Kyo at Shigure’s flippant remark. He hasn’t turned around, but it looks as though he’s gotten smaller, like he’s hunching in on himself. She frowns for a moment before forcing herself to conjure up a smile that she directs at Shigure. "Um, thank you for still allowing me to live here!"

“It's almost too good to be true,” Yuki mutters. Tohru looks back at him as he narrows his eyes at Shigure. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch!” Shigure says cheerfully. “Well, other than the fact that Akito also ordered for Kyo to begin living here as well and to start attending school with the two of you, but-”

The room explodes with noise.

Tohru can do nothing but gape as Yuki and Kyo simultaneously shoot to their feet and shout, _“What?”_ They tower over Shigure, who stays on the floor, smiling nervously up at them.

“What the _fuck_ are you talking about-”

“I am _not_ living with that idiot-”

“-I’m not going to school! Especially with this damn rat!”

“-he can sleep outside for all I care.”

“Children, children, please!” Shigure cries, finally standing up beside them. “Yell all you want, but I doubt Akito can hear you. Not that that would change anything. Kyo, I’ll be having you take an entrance exam tomorrow for their school. Be sure you’re ready when I am, okay?”

“God, forget this,” Kyo snaps, and he storms through the room and right past Tohru even as she tries to ask, “Are you-”

The door slams after him, and her question dies on her lips.

“He’ll get over it,” Shigure says after a few moments.

“No, he won’t,” Yuki mutters, “and neither will I. Why did either of you think that this was a good idea?”

Shigure raises his eyebrows at him in feigned shock and gestures to Tohru. “Have you already forgotten about Tohru, here? Akito thinks it’ll be good for Kyo. Well, maybe not those exact words, but still. He should’ve been attending the nearby boys’ school, but he hasn’t shown up for class in four months.

“What? Why?” Tohru says, taken aback by the comment. Four months of not going to school? She can’t imagine ever doing that.

“Apparently, he’s been training. In the mountains, no less.”

Even Yuki looks surprised at that. “What for?”

“Oh, you know all he wants to do is beat you in a real fight.” Shigure looks to Tohru, smiling slightly. “They’ve been rivals since they were kids. Not sure if you could tell from all their bickering.”

“He’s an idiot,” Yuki says, rolling his eyes. “I’m going to go do my homework. Have a nice afternoon, Miss Honda.” Then he’s gone, Shigure trailing after him and crying, “Yuki, when did you become such a cruel child?”

Tohru finds herself alone for the first time in what feels like days. She finds herself staring at the spot Kyo was sitting before, and finally doesn’t try to fight off all of her thoughts about him.

_I wonder why he wants to beat up Sohma-kun so bad_ , she muses, absently tracing the mark again. _Maybe it’s because he resents that he was tricked, like the Cat in the old story. But I get the feeling that it’s not really my place to ask. At least not yet. Not even as his… his soulmate. Especially since I don’t think he likes me in the slightest._ Her stomach twists at the thought and she stares down at the cat mark sadly.

“Just my luck,” she murmurs, rubbing her thumb over the cat’s face. “I finally get to meet you, and everything goes wrong.”

Her eyes sting, and she wipes at them quickly. She won’t cry over this.

And, just like that, she suddenly feels determined. So what if Kyo doesn’t like her right now? That doesn’t mean that things will stay this way! She just has to work at getting him to know that she’s here for him, soulmate situation aside.

Maybe that’s why he doesn’t like her, actually. Is it possible that he feels obligated to like her and doesn’t want to because he disagrees with the whole thing, like Yuki seems to?

She feels her confidence waver, but one glance at the mark again solidifies it. She has to at least _try_ to be his friend.

“Thank you, Cat-tattoo,” she whispers, grinning.

* * *

The walk to school on Kyo’s first day is awfully quiet.

Tohru tries painstakingly to engage him in conversation several times, but he never responds verbally; he’ll scoff at her question or glare when Yuki speaks instead, but he just won’t talk directly to her.

She hates how much the obvious rejection hurts.

“Just let him mope,” Yuki says eventually, ignoring Kyo’s harsh, _‘Excuse me?’_ to smile gently at her instead. “He’s always been like this.”

“Alright,” she whispers. She knows that Yuki doesn’t care that Kyo can hear them, but she can’t help the flood of guilt she feels when he glares at them again. It’s mostly aimed at Kyo, but still.

When they’re only a few minutes away, Kyo suddenly passes by them. Tohru stares as he practically runs the rest of the way to the school, leaving her and Yuki completely behind. The guilt runs through her again.

“Did I… did I do something wrong?” she can’t help but ask softly, her fingers automatically finding their way to her wrist so she can stroke the mark. “To make him not like me?”

She hears Yuki sigh and braces herself for an answer that she probably won’t like. “It’s not you, Miss Honda. He’s always been an ass, so don’t worry yourself over it.”

“But… why?”

She looks over to him and frowns at the far-away look in his eyes. “It’s just a… family thing. Not your fault, I promise.”

“Oh.” She decides the drop the subject for the time being. If she’s meant to learn about what has Kyo acting the way he does, then she will.

When they finally reach class, Tohru winces immediately at the sight before them. Clearly, it somehow already got out that another Sohma would be transferring to their school, and it looks like almost everybody has made the connection that it’s Kyo, if the conversations around her about the boy with orange hair! are any indication.

Kyo himself is sitting at his desk, resolutely keeping his gaze down and away from all of the students crowding around him. He looks entirely uncomfortable, and maybe even scared. The only thing that keeps her from going over to try and calm him down is the fact that she knows he wouldn’t appreciate it.

“I feel bad for him,” she whispers to Yuki. He makes a small noise that she thinks might be a laugh.

“I don’t.”

She stares at him, not sure if she should be surprised or not at the harshness of the words. Before she can say anything else, Uo and Hanajima are calling her over, and she joins them with a soft _‘Have a good day, Sohma-kun’_ that he nods at.

“We have a new kid,” Uo says cheerfully. “Look at that _hair!_ Reminds me of a carrot, or that fiery orange your mom had, Tohru.”

“Ooh,” she says, tilting her head. “I can see it now! It’s a nice color, right?”

“I feel them,” Hanajima murmurs suddenly, right behind Tohru. She glances over her shoulder to see her friend frowning in Kyo’s direction. “His waves… they’re exactly the same as Yuki Sohma’s. Odd. I’m not sure what I’m sensing, but they feel almost… inhuman.”

_Oh, dear_. Tohru drops her gaze to the floor, sure that her face would give her away if they saw it. She forgot how spot-on Hanajima’s wave reports were.

“Actually…” Tohru looks back up in time to meet Hanajima’s gaze; her friend looks as suspicious as she did that day in class, after Tohru spoke to Yuki for the first time - and, wow, was that only a few days ago? “Their waves have some similarities to yours, Tohru. I can’t believe I didn’t notice them before.”

She feels frozen where she stands. “W-What?” she manages, forcing herself to smile, and Hanajima just narrows her eyes.  
“Woah, what’s up?” Uo says, leaning in between the two of them. “What about Tohru’s waves, or whatever?”

Oh, gosh, Yuki is going to freak out if they figure it out. “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence!” Tohru squeaks, and her face flushes when Uo joins in on Hanajima’s staring.

“No, I’m almost certain,” Hanajima says, and she starts to reach out for Tohru’s wrist.

The lull of conversation stops behind them.

“Hey, where are you going?” someone whines, and Tohru spins around, at first grateful for the distraction and then concerned when she sees that Kyo’s up and walking away from his desk. One of their classmates is on his heels, saying, “We were talking!” and grabbing his arm.

Tohru barely has time to think _Oh, no_ when Kyo freezes and then grabs the girl, shoving her to the floor and holding back her arms while she cries out in pain. There’s a slightly dazed look on his face, like he didn’t mean to do it, but couldn’t help it.

_It’s like when Yuki shoved that girl away_ , Tohru can’t help thinking. _And this time, I know why._

Around them, their other classmates gasp and shout at Kyo, openly shocked by the scene before them. Tohru looks frantically to Yuki to see if he’s planning on doing anything to stop him, but he’s just staring at Kyo, annoyance clear as day on his face.

“Wow,” Uo says. She sounds almost impressed. “Guy’s strong.”

Just as suddenly as he’d grabbed her, Kyo releases the girl, backing away from her and then turning to throw the window open.

“Everybody leave me alone!” he yells, and then - he _jumps_ , right out of the window.

“Oh my gosh,” Tohru breathes all at once, though her words are crushed by the screams of everyone else. Half of the kids run over to stare after Kyo, who must be okay since nobody starts crying for help. Still, Tohru feels that same concern from earlier, the same urge to follow after and help him even if he doesn’t want it.

“Looks like he’ll be fun to have in class,” Uo mutters. “Definitely kinda freaky, though.”

Tohru sighs. “Yeah.”

She glances back towards the doorway to look for Yuki, but he’s no longer there. Blinking, she looks around the whole classroom once and then again, but he’s nowhere to be found.

Then it hits her. _He must have followed Kyo_ , she thinks, and her concern grows tenfold.

“Um, bathroom!” is all she says to her friends before hurrying from the classroom.

She realizes very quickly that she has no idea where to start looking, and the image of the two of them attempting to knock the other out is the only thing that keeps her going, jogging down the hall and listening for their voices as hard as she can.

“Oh, where would they have gone?” she asks herself, worryingly rubbing her wrist.

Suddenly, she finds herself drawn to the stairwell, and, after hesitating only a second, she heads down the flight of stairs, reaching the first floor in only a few moments. A door just a few feet away grabs her attention, and within seconds she’s heading through it and outside, behind the school.

Voices float out from around the corner of the building, and she takes a second to smile gratefully at her mark before she’s rushing over to them.

“You’d never understand!” Kyo is yelling, and Tohru rounds the corner to see him pointing accusingly at an impassive Yuki. “I’m gonna beat you and win! I’ll become a full-fledged member of the Sohma clan, and they’ll never ostracize me again! Do you hear me?!”

In almost a repeat of the other morning, he lunges at Yuki, grabbing the front of his shirt, and Tohru runs forward without thinking, crying, “Please don’t-!”

Somehow, she ends up falling right into Kyo for the second time in less than a week, and her arms close around his middle automatically.

Tohru falls to her knees when she feels Kyo disappear from her grasp again, shutting her eyes and mentally chanting _please no please no not again._

When she tentatively opens them a moment later, Kyo’s hunched over, orange tail swishing angrily.

“I’m- I’m so sorry,” she manages, unable to believe herself. How does she find out about their secret and then go and make Kyo transform again? Maybe the mark is a bad omen, and has been all this time. She shoves the thought from her mind and continues, desperately, “I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t- you can’t fight at school! What if you get in-in trouble, or-”

“Will you shut up already?!” Kyo snaps, and Tohru does. She stares as Kyo jumps around to face her, the fur along his back spiking up in a show of anger. “This isn’t any of your damn business! What’s your deal, anyway?! Are you just hangin’ around ‘cause of that- that damn mark? You need to stop causin’ problems-!”

“Enough,” Yuki says, clearly exasperated. Kyo continues shouting right over him.

“-and just get the hell outta here!”

Tohru tries, but she can’t think of any way to respond that’ll sate him after such an outburst. Slowly, she stands up and then makes her leave, clutching her wrist against her chest.

Her heart hurts.

“So angry,” she murmurs. “He already hated me, and this just… made it worse.”

Faintly, she thinks she hears a noise - a soft, dejected sigh - but it must be the wind.

When she arrives back to class, she slips into her desk, not meeting her friends’ gazes.

“Long bathroom break,” Uo says eventually. Tohru forces a sheepish smile. Her gaze slips to the door and she sees Yuki walk in, but Kyo doesn’t appear, not even after a few more moments.

Hanajima, her earlier wave report long forgotten, reaches out and smooths Tohru’s hair down. “Are you alright, Tohru?”

“I’m fine,” she says. She can hear the teacher telling them to sit down and pay attention, and she smiles at her friends, this one a little more real. “I promise.”

Eventually, they both turn around in their seats, leaving Tohru to sigh and rub at her eyes. They’re stinging, like she might start crying. She would be one to almost cry over something like this, and barely a day apart, too.

A part of her feels hopeless, now, like trying to get through to Kyo isn’t worth the effort since he definitely doesn’t like her in the slightest. Whether it’s just her or the mark that bonds them or both, he can’t stand her. Logically, she should just stop wasting her time with Kyo and make more of an effort to befriend Yuki, at least. 

But…

She wants to. Despite everything, there’s another part of her - albeit smaller - that’s whispering that she still has to try. That, despite how bad of a beginning they’re having now, he’s still worth trying to get through to because-

Well. She’s not entirely sure why, yet, but that doesn’t matter. She’s made up her mind again.

Tohru will try and try and try again to get to know Kyo, no matter what happens, because she feels that he’s worth it.

* * *

It’s dark on her way home.

She hasn’t had to leave so late for a few days, not since the night Yuki and Shigure found her, and she can’t help jumping at every little noise again.

“Just ignore them,” she whispers to herself. “Think about something else!”

Naturally, her mind takes her right back to her Kyo situation. The memory of his yelled words earlier fills her mind, and her confidence in trying again with him wavers slightly. She sighs softly.

“I really meant it when I said that I’d quit being a Dog to become a Cat instead,” she says to herself. “I can’t believe the real Cat spirit hates me.”

_Just be you, Tohru_ , her mom whispers in her mind. Her voice is warm, just like it always was when offering advice. Her frown is replaced by a soft smile at the thought, and her confidence comes back full-force. She can’t believe how much thinking of her mom still helps.

“I know, Mom. I will be. I won’t let this bring me down!”

Something behind her crunches. Then it crunches again. And again.

_Footsteps._

Tohru thinks she stops breathing for a second. What was it that Shigure had said the other night? Something about creeps wandering around the area? _Oh, gosh, what if it’s a forest pervert?!_ she thinks wildly. _What do I do?!_

The footsteps grow closer. They’re just behind her.

Acting on instinct, she whirls around and swings her bag at the person, shrieking, “Go away!”

Her bag makes contact. The person doesn’t make a sound.

When nothing happens for a few moments, Tohru slowly turns to peek at the person and then gasps, yanking her bag back.

Kyo stares at her for a second, then turns away. She can’t see his face with how he’s turned, but there’s no doubt in her mind that he’s absolutely fuming right now.

“Oh, no, oh my gosh,” she whispers, horrified with herself. At this point, she’d completely understand if Kyo did nothing but shun her after this. “I’m sorry! I was just- I was doing practice swings! Um, it- it was lucky running into you! Are- are you going for a walk?”

“Cut it out,” he snaps.

Tohru pauses, staring at the back of his head. “Um-”

“So you hit me. Whatever. Just drop it,” he mutters, already sounding significantly less heated than he was a few seconds ago. Actually, this might be the first time she’s heard him speak where he doesn’t sound on the verge of yelling.

Considering how their last conversation - if it could even be called that - ended, Tohru feels thrown for a loop.

“Okay,” she says, blinking. But what now? _Maybe I can just… say his name. To see how he takes it._ “Um… Kyo?” she tries

“Yeah, what?”

Still quieter than he usually is. Okay. “I was just… saying your name,” she admits carefully.

Just like that, he’s yelling again. “Well, I thought you were calling me!”

“Sorry!” she squeaks, ducking her head to hide from his glare. Well, at least she managed a few seconds before he got annoyed again.

“No,” Kyo says a few moments later, and he’s quiet again. “It’s fine.”

_What?_ Tohru raises her head and blinks at the sight of Kyo looking away, almost like he’s deliberately avoiding her gaze. “You can say my name without needing something. And…” He takes a quick breath, like a sigh, and keeps talking while Tohru just stares. “I know you don’t mean to cause any problems for us. It’s not your fault you’re… involved and stuff because of the… the mark.” He turns his head more, so Tohru can’t make out any of his features anymore, but she can see enough of his face that - he _might_ be blushing. “And if I piss you off, you can go ahead and hit me, I don’t care.”

He falls silent, still looking away from her. After a moment, Tohru realizes that her mouth has fallen agape and she shuts it silently. _Is he… trying to apologize? Or am I reading this really, really wrong? Maybe that’s why he’s out here, so he could find me?_

Instinctively, without even really looking, she touches the mark. For the first time since first meeting Kyo, it warms under her fingertips. Like it’s telling her to take this opportunity to just - say what she’s been wanting to say.

So she does.

“Hey, Kyo?”

He finally raises his gaze back to hers, frowning, but it’s one of confusion rather than anger. “Yeah?”

She ducks her head towards him. “I’m sorry for hurting you! I thought you were a creep or something, so that’s why I hit you with my bag?”

“I- what?” he says, and he sounds even more confused than before, but she’s not done.

“I actually really like you!” she says imploringly, raising her head to look him right in the eye. He stares back at her, his own eyes wide, and she pauses for a moment to just take in the deep shade of red they are before barreling on. “I have always loved the Cat from the zodiac! I even wanted to be born in the Year of the Cat! Wait, that’s probably confusing,” she mutters, accidentally throwing herself off for a moment. “But! That’s not important! I just… I want us to be friends!” She holds her wrist out, openly showing off her mark in a way she hasn’t in years. Kyo’s gaze jumps down to it, and she continues. “Even if I didn’t have this, I’d still want to be your friend! And I… I know that me having this mark bothers you. I don’t know why it does, but I also don’t mind! We can even pretend I don’t if that makes you feel better. I just…” Gosh, this must be the longest she’s spoken around him without getting cut off. It feels odd, but she doesn’t mind at all. “I want to try to be your friend, Kyo. No matter what. Despite the mark and the curse and- and whatever else! If… if you want to, as well.”

Finally, she trails off, and she has to take a moment to catch her breath. She needs to stop getting so winded just from talking to Sohmas, really.

“I don’t… mind,” Kyo says, startling her back into focus. He’s still looking at the mark, and she can tell, now, that his face has definitely reddened. From embarrassment? Certainly not anger, as far as she can tell. “The mark, it doesn’t bother me. Really. So you don’t have to worry about that.” He glances back up at her for a moment, and scowls when he sees her staring. “Dunno why you’re so obsessed with the Year of the Cat, though. There’s nothin’ good about it, okay?”

With that, he stalks off, brushing by her to start heading home. She stares after him, unsure of how to respond before deciding that a verbal one isn’t necessary right now.

_I think… I might be starting to understand him. Just a little bit. He can be awkward at times, but I think he has a gentle heart. He knows what it feels like to be sorry, and he’s honest. And... we're soulmates._

She has no idea how that'll turn out for them, but she finds that she can't wait to see.

Unable to help it, she smiles gently after him.

“Well? Are you comin’ or what?” he calls, and she giggles.

“Sorry, yes!”

She walks behind him all the way to the house, talking aloud about random things and smiling at Kyo whenever he makes a noise that suggests he’s listening. It’s the nicest time she’s spent with him so far, but she imagines that there will be even better times to come.

When they reach the house, she lets Kyo enter the house first, pausing a few feet from the door to stare at the sky.

“What’re you doin’ now?” Kyo asks, sounding exasperated.

“The night sky is pretty!” she says, turning to smile at him. “Look at how bright the stars are, Kyo!”

He looks up for a few seconds before rolling his eyes. “Yeah, whatever.”

When Tohru’s certain he’s not still looking, she focuses her smile on her cat mark. “Thank you, Cat-tattoo,” she whispers. She’s not sure what she’s thanking it for, but it feels like the right thing to say before she finishes her day.

Nothing changes, but she could swear that it glows in the moonlight just then.

**Author's Note:**

> kyo and tohru still get together in the future but as this fic only covers a few eps worth of interactions they aren't Yet even with the soulmate thing oop
> 
> also i tried to switch up the dialogue i snatched enough so it doesn't look like i'm straight up copying h i just imagined that most of the same scenes would happen, just with tohru's direct pov/thoughts included (and also the soul mark)
> 
> okay so!! gonna include a few notes down here for anyone interested
> 
> as this is entirely from tohru's pov (i debated doing both hers and kyo's but i didn't think i'd be able to manage in time) some things are vaguely unclear when it comes to the soulmate thing and kyo's feelings on it. we all know why kyo acts a little weird in the beginning of the original story, and the same goes here, but the mark also freaks him out. i couldn't really say anything in the actual fic, so i'll put my ideas here:  
> -shigure doesn't mention it, but the cat spirit has never had a soulmate/soul mark before (unless you were able to gather that based on kyo's initial reaction skdjskds), giving the sohmas yet another reason to view them as outcasts  
> -tohru doesn't know (yet) but kyo being the first cat spirit to ever have a mark suggests that his specific curse, or the curse in general, is coming to an end. kyo freaks out because he doesn't want to get his hopes up about everything.  
> -akito lets tohru stay because of the mark and likely because shigure suggested the whole "the curse might break bc of her" idea (akito in general isn't fond of the soulmate thing bc of the possibility of the zodiacs leaving the sohmas behind for them; hence hatori and kana being unable to be together here, too  
> -yuki isn't a fan of the soulmate thing solely bc it's yet another thing that ties him with the sohmas; specifically, with tohru having kyo's mark, he's upset bc he doesn't want tohru involved with his family and also just doesn't like kyo in general
> 
> so those ^ are just some details that i couldn't really work in due to this being in tohru's pov!! mayhaps i'll write a kyo pov if people read this and like it though sksjsks
> 
> so i think that's it!! feel free to follow me on tumblr @bookrockshooter where i occasionally post about furuba and various other things uwu
> 
> thank you for reading, and i hope you're having a good day/night!!


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